Thursday, May 30. 2013

What? Freight Cars on Track 41? Yes!! Dave Rogan is shown by four of our cars as they underwent inspections and maintenance. A large dose of "thank you" is needed for Rod Turner, Jim West, and Gerry Dettloff who went out of their way to move the cars, some from deep in Yard 14, to this track where we have the air supply, tools, and records for this annual task.

The Boss

I am usually the one lurking in the background and trying to catch a pic of the work. In this case Norm Krentel provided the candid image of me during the car inspections. Victor Humphreys and Paul Cronin also played a big part in the chores. The cars now released for operations are SHPX 42, GN X1390, BFIX 520, and GN 70104.

Window Post Caps

Lorne Tweed is hard at work installing more of the window post caps inside Cleveland Transit System 4223. Only two remain on the left side of the car. Those on the right side are installed, as are all the window tracks on the right side, and most of the window sash.

Welcome Back

We were all delighted to welcome Al Reinschmidt back to the fold of the Wednesday volunteers. He is still in the recovery stage following a serious illness, but all those get well cards may have had some effect. Here, Al is straightening and making repairs to the window tracks, many more needed for the left side of the 4223.

A New Face

Russ Prince joined us for a day of FUN. He quickly took up the banner and is shown here cleaning up some of the needed window tracks.

Relief Man

Al provided a break for Russ, he is well qualified for this task, having processed many many pieces, most of which are now installed in the 4223.

Chemist

Norm Krental resembles a mad chemist at work on the bench. He and Jeff Brady were on hand to continue the work on the new roof for Michigan Electric 28.

Interior Wood

Dave Rogan squeezed in some time to paint new wood parts for the Chicago Great Western X 38 snowplow. We pitched in to take the measurements and cut the wood, and before the sawdust settled the primer was going on. Many of these were installed later in the afternoon. Lorne Tweed looks on in the background - is he giving instructions, or just fascinated by the smell of fresh paint?

Cab Cupola

Buzz Morisette continues to make progress in the restoration of the many deteriorated wood parts in the cupola of the X 38. Framing and corner posts are made and being fitted into place.

A Change of Pace

John Nelligan is priming a steel panel destined for the inside of Charles City Western 300. He has spent weeks on the resistor grid work, and now finally gets some variety in his work.

Planning

Rich Witt continues on a batch of First Aid Boxes for our Chicago Aurora and Elgin cars. The drawings have been made and now Rich is laying out the needed cuts to optimize use of the boards on hand. Good planning makes for good work, and of course, less surprises along the way.

Tuesday, May 28. 2013

We interrupt our regularly scheduled report to bring you this late breaking news.

On May 27, 2013 the Chicago and West Towns 141 electric trolley car entered regular public service at the Illinois Railway Museum. The car ran well on our car line route, carrying capacity riders to the delight of our visitors and members alike. The car last ran under its own power in 1947 and represents decades of work by our volunteers and staff alike. FRANK SIRINEK led the project and ROD TURNER, the Electric Car Department Curator, invested time and money, the support of the crew of mechanics, electricians, and restorationists to make this possible. I am sure you will see more news and pics of this event in coming days.

Back to your regular programming.

Table Saw

The table saw being restored for use in the woodshop is making progress. Here is the restored quadrant - miter gauge mounted on the sliding table.

First Aid

Rich Witt is carefully taking measurements and making a working drawing to construct a set of replica FIRST AID BOXES for our CA&E cars.

Priming

John Faulhaber is priming many new panels and parts made for our Cleveland Transit System 4223 PCC car.

Stripping

Bill Peterson is using a new paint stripper to remove years of finish on the curved steel panels that once held ad cards in the 4223, while new Board member Norm Krentel looks on.

Cleaning Up

After the paint stripper is done, Bill Peterson cleaned the remnants down to bare steel with a power wire brush. It was not too cold so Bill moved outdoors for this messy step.

Light Panels

Paul Cronin, Bob Kutella, and Rich Witt are working on the last set of old ceiling light panels from the 4223. These old fixtures are well and truly mounted with very rusty hardware that fought well for every screw removed.

Gaskets

Eric Lorenz pulls out the old rubber gasket that runs along the bottom of each window sash. Amazing that we were able to source new material. It does not go in easily but many more were completed.

Results

And the results speak for themselves in this view of the front half of the right side of the 4223.

Thursday, May 23. 2013

Chicago Aurora & Elgin 308 was a visitor to Barn 4 yesterday. Randall Hicks was able to operate the car to here and spot it over the pit for annual inspections and maintenance. This type of behind the scenes labor requires skill and time and is often unnoticed. But very important if we wish to have safe cars to operate for public rides.

The Rack

Pete Galayda is completing the insulator mounting arrangement for the grid boxes on Charles City Western 300, a steeple cab locomotive. That orange is REALLY ORANGE!!!

Window Tracks

Simon Harrison is mounting window tracks in the openings on the right side of Cleveland Transit System 4223. These were pieces laboriously cleaned up last year in the shop during poor weather conditions and now they are in their rightful place.

Post Caps

While Simon worked on the right side, Lorne Tweed raced to stay ahead of him by mounting more of the window post caps on the left side of the car. Other activity on this car included removal of the twelfth light fixture from the old decrepit ceiling panels, removal of all old rusted in screws from those and the steel backer plates, wire brushing the plates ready for paint, and fabricating two more new ceiling panels.

Side Framing

Tim Peters is examining some of the side framing on Chicago Rapid Transit 1024. As so often happens, any little thing becomes a much bigger thing. A rotted window sill was removed and this led to the discovery of water damage and rot of two of the cars window posts.

At the Platform

Tim is working on the platform at the west end, discovering more needed repairs layer by layer. Here he is down to the steel for supporting the end platform and fitting some reinforcing steel. And this is one of the GOOD corners!

We also noticed a lot of infrastructure and site work in process. At least five new steel poles for the electric trolley bus system extension have been painted and are ready to plant in the ground. Concrete forms were being prepared to sink in the holes as soon as they are dug and dry - we hope.

Work continued on stump removal from a low area that had 'volunteer' trees and brush growing in it for a decade or more. This will be a big improvement to the parking area, more capacity, and improved drainage.

Thursday, May 16. 2013

Chicago Aurora & Elgin 309 was on the move on Track 41 heading into the Barn for the inspection pit. Father and son team, Randall and Frank Hicks, worked throughout the day and accomplished most of the items on the checklist and inspection report.

Lighting Panel

Rich Witt has completed available work on several recent projects and volunteered to work on removing light fixtures from a ceiling panel for Cleveland Transit System 4223. They are very stubborn and recalcitrant, the metal screws being truly well rusted into place. Later in the day we got to see an original First Aid Box from the CA&E cars and Randy Hicks entered a request for six of them to be built.

The Last Box

John Nelligan is grinning broadly next the last of seven resistance boxes to be restored for Charles City Western 300. And why not? It seems he may have spent the last several months glued to a stool at the sandblaster cleaning the many parts before assembly work could be done.

In Place

John is beside himself and also beside the locomotive. The first grid box is in place and mounting porcelain ready to receive the next three.

Toy Boxcar

John Faulhaber and Henry Vincent are just finishing up the children's activity boxcar sponsored by Ray Bellock. Before the day was over it rolled happily out of the shop doors, another project complete.

Getting Legs

Jim Foraker worked on parts for our new saw base. Legs and mounting pads were cut to length and prepped for welding.

Steam Department

Norm Krentel is enjoying the pleasant weather as he monitors the steam generator and steaming tube while a length of white oak is warming up inside. This for another of the curved pieces being made for Michigan Electric 28.

Sunday, May 12. 2013

Just one week ago long time member of IRM and officer of the organization succumbed to a long and arduous hard fought battle with cancer. In his memory the CA&E train, led by car 409, displayed black marker flags and black bunting across the front. Crew members included Randall Hicks and Jeff Obarek. We will all miss and remember you, Jim

Light Panels

Dave Diaz returned to our shops and helped John McKelvey on seat repairs and then moved to working on the old lighting ceiling panels for Cleveland Transit System 4223. He did make some good progress and managed to remove several of the light fixtures which were held in stubbornly by a host of rusty screws.

Bending Wood

Bill Peterson, Jeff Brady, and Norm Krentel were quite successful in steam bending some white oak slats for the new roof on Michigan Electric 28. They used a home made steam generator and steaming 'chamber' to cook the wood for two hours.

More Bill

We return to the popular feature MORE BILL. Bill Wulfert has great patience and stick-to-it-ness as he continues the painstaking work of repairing and restoring myriad light fixture sockets. Don't tell him I said this as his fame will make him hard to live with.

There was other work going on including more progress on the CGW X 38 snowplow, and on Chicago Rapid Transit 1024, and Electric Car Department tasks.

This will be a short report today as I met and escorted two members of
the Great Northern Railway Historical Society on a tour and with
meetings to schedule a special event for them. The GNRHS is holding
their annual convention in Chicago this year for the first time and they
will spend Saturday July 27 at IRM. If you are already a GNRHS member,
remember the date and plan to attend. If not there is still time to join
them. There are still volunteers needed to act as tour docents and other IRM support tasks.

Thursday, May 9. 2013

This entry will be for general interest work I saw on site today, and perhaps one surprise pic.

Childrens Boxcar

John Faulhaber made some slight adjustments and finishing touches, then went on to prime the car.

Interior Paneling

Lorne Tweed is making good progress on the Cleveland Transit System 4223 interior behind the rear door. Several pieces are test fit here, including one piece, new from the fabricator just today.

Sign Box

In the above pic you may notice a void or empty space just to the rear of the rear door. The rear sign box will be mounted here as shown by Lorne. It fits like a glove!

Window Tracks

Of course there is usually more than one person working on any of our projects. Simon Harrison is installing window tracks, two for each window. Slow work to be sure - the process, not Simon.

View From the Top

Here is pic of our B&O 374065 wagon top boxcar from an angle not usually seen. In this case from the top of the adjacent CGW X 38 snow plow. During the day, Victor Humphreys worked on this car, installing a repaired side door threshold plate.

Bending Jig

Jeff Brady and Norm Krentel are making a sturdy bending jig while just outside the door, a steam generator is 'cooking' a piece of white oak. The result we hope for is a nicely contoured runner for new roof mats for Michigan Electric 28

Sunday, May 5. 2013

Based upon feedback from our readers, here is (on request) MORE BILL. That would be Bill Wulfert continuing on restoring and cleaning the many light socket assemblies we need now. Funny thing is, he looks like he is enjoying it.

Big News of the Week

The big news of the week involved delivery of new castings for resistance grid boxes on Chicago & West Towns 141. There is a lot of grinding and cleanup needed on the foundry castings, but they have all been examined and tested.

Wood Lining

Bill Peterson is cutting many more boards to length as destined for interior lining on our Chicago Great Western X 38 snow plow. Then he sanded them all and Vicotr Humphreys started the step of applying white primer.

Framing

Buzz Morisette is installing two new timbers at the top of the interior rear wall on the X 38. It seems nothing is ever simple and he had to overcome some drama due to their inconvenient location.

Lettering

It was gloomy and rainy in the morning but after that ended and the sun came out, I continued on painting more of the CGW herald on the X 38. Only two good hours, but slowly, it is taking form.

Ceiling Lighting Panels

Ray Pollice is taking the old bulls-eye lights out from the ceiling panels for Cleveland Transit System 4223. The old rusty screws present quite a problem. As soon as one of the old panels was down its bare substance it was used as a pattern and Brian Patterson and I laid out and cut a new replacement.

Window Tracks

Inside the 4223 Lorne Tweed was mounting aluminum tracks on the window posts, - if you have been following this story you know what we are referring to and where it will lead.

In at Last

It is not the last window to go in, but Lorne said at last we are putting windows in!

New Roof

Tim Peters is up on a lift working on the roof at the east end of Chicago Rapid Transit 1024. The center section wood and supports below it have been 100% replaced and are taking shape nicely.

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Comments

Nigel Bennett about Steam Department Update June 2015Wed, 07-29-2015 07:42Subject to the general caveat that
a 100 year old steam engine can
always develop a last minute fault,
it is planned that #1630 will
operate 8/1 and [...]

CincyCubfan23 about Steam Department Update June 2015Wed, 07-29-2015 06:28Nigel - First, THANK YOU for all
the work you do (and everyone else
at IRM, for that matter)!
I believe I know the answer, but
I'll ask anyhow. [...]

Nathan about Steam Department Update June 2015Mon, 07-27-2015 16:26Nigel,
All matters of practicality do
indeed have to be taken into
consideration.
That said, as another suggestion,
you may want to talk to your [...]

Nigel Bennett about Steam Department Update June 2015Mon, 07-27-2015 07:38Nathan,
All ideas to be considered and
depends on how this year turns
out.
The big reason we run Thomas over
the route we do is the space [...]

Nathan about Steam Department Update June 2015Sun, 07-26-2015 19:24Hi Nigel,
Just noticed the comments and plans
for Thomas on this thread and am
intrigued.
It seems like a great idea to have
#1630 push the Percy [...]

Nigel Bennett about Steam Department Update June 2015Sun, 07-26-2015 09:41Andrew,
No. The Thomas train will follow
its normal route.
There will be two event trains, the
Thomas train and the Percy train
(standard DOWT [...]

Nigel Bennett about Steam Department Update June 2015Sat, 07-25-2015 08:45Peter,
The Thomas days will be
significantly different this year.
There will be a Percy train as well
as a Thomas train and, subject to
the [...]

Peter D. about Steam Department Update June 2015Fri, 07-24-2015 23:51Greetings: Quick question regarding
steam operations...In addition to
Thomas, when would you expect a
steam locomotive to be on the
tacks. Thanks.